Nikon's Coolpix L24 sets itself apart from other budget cameras by including a big 3-inch LCD, but it falls short on image quality.

On the outside, the Nikon Coolpix L24 point-and-shoot camera looks great, and it comes with a modest $119.95 (direct) price. Its larger-than-average-for-its-price 3-inch LCD allows you to frame and review images, even on bright days. But the camera’s performance doesn’t live up to its façade. The 14-megapixel images are soft and noisy, even in bright light, and you can’t adjust the camera’s ISO. Also the 3.6x zoom lens lacks wide-angle capability and telephoto reach. Yes, the L24 is reasonably priced, but there are better budget cameras out there, including our Editors’ Choice, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 ($129.99, 4 stars).

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Design and FeaturesA bit bulkier and heavier than some of the other budget compacts we have tested, the L24 measures 2.4 by 3.9 by 1.2 inches (HWD) and weighs in at 6.5 ounces. In contrast, the slimmer Samsung ES80 ($99.99, 3 stars) measures 2.3 by 3.8 by 0.8 inches and weighs just 4.5 ounces. The thicker body allows room for the zoom rocker to be placed on the top of the camera, surrounding the shutter release.

Largely constructed of plastic, the L24 does have some metal elements including the frame around the rear LCD and lens mechanism. Our test unit featured a black finish, but the camera is also available in red or silver. The lens is a very modest 3.6x zoom, covering a 37-134mm (35mm equivalent) angle of view. Its f/3.1-6.7 aperture range is fairly slow, especially on the longer end of the zoom range, making low-light use a concern. The camera offers digital image stabilization to reduce camera shake, but that can only do so much. You’ll be able to capture sharper images at lower shutter speeds with a camera that features optical stabilization, like the Panasonic S3.

The rear of the camera is dominated by its 230k-dot 3-inch LCD, which is better than the smaller, lower-resolution LCDs found on many cameras in this class. It’s bright enough to see clearly on a sunny day, unlike the comparatively dim and fuzzy LCD found on the Samsung ES80. The controls, located to the right of the display allow you to switch between shooting and playback, enable or disable the flash, activate the self timer, adjust exposure compensation, enable macro mode, access the camera’s menu, and delete images from the memory card. You can’t manually adjust the camera’s ISO, however, which is troublesome given its image-noise problems at even moderate settings.

For newbies, a built-in help system explains what each menu setting does. Move the zoom rocker to the right when navigating through the menu and a help screen will pop-up, explaining what exactly is controlled a particular setting.

Performance and Conclusions The Coolpix L24 isn’t a speed demon. The camera recorded a 0.4-second mark on our shutter lag test, which is pretty good for a camera in its class. The camera takes about 2.3 seconds to start up and capture a shot, and requires 2.6 seconds of recycle time between photos. The Editors’ Choice Panasonic Lumix S3 equals the L24 in shutter lag, and betters it in boot-and-shoot and recycle times, clocking in at 1.8 seconds on both tests.

In our lab tests, the L24 delivered underwhelming images, scoring 1,440 lines per picture height on the Imatest sharpness test. A score of 1,800 is considered very sharp, and the L24 falls far below that mark. Images from the camera were lacking fine detail, with fine textures obscured by fuzziness and noise. Blue fringing was apparent in high contrast situations, such as a darker object against a bright sky. Canon’s PowerShot A800 ($89.99, 3 stars) is one of the sharpest budget cameras we’ve tested, recording 2,127 lines per picture height—and it’s $30 less expensive.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not possible to manually adjust the L24’s ISO setting. Even under studio lighting, the lowest we were able to get the camera to go was ISO 100. This is only slightly higher than the baseline ISO 80 at which the camera is rated. At ISO 100, noise comprised more than 1.5 percent of the image, the threshold Imatest considers acceptable. In this price range, consider the General Electric J1470S ($119.99, 4 stars) or the Panasonic S3 if low-light performance is important to you, both are capable of less than 1.5 percent noise at ISO 800 and below.

The L24 records video in 640-by-480 standard-definition resolution. Despite it not being HD, video quality is pretty good, although there is some evidence of vertical smear. The camera doesn’t allow the lens to zoom during recording, so you won’t pick up that sound on your video. You can perform digital zoom, which just crops the video in-camera, so you won’t be limited to a fixed field of view when recording.

Powered by AA batteries rather than a single rechargeable cell, the L24 ships with the alkaline variety, but can also be used with disposable lithium and rechargeable NiMH AAs. You’ll get the best life out of disposable lithium cells, about 720 shots per pair versus the 220 shots that are expected from alkalines. NiMH batteries fall in the middle, giving you about 420 shots per charge, but you’ll have to factor in the cost of purchasing a battery charger. A proprietary USB port is available to connect to a computer. The camera can accept SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards.

Sure it features a nice, big LCD, but the Nikon Coolpix L24 is lacking when it comes to image quality. Its auto mode and in-camera help system are desirable if you’re a newbie, but you will likely be disappointed by the camera’s noisy images at almost every ISO. Its 3.6x zoom lens is lacking on both the wide and telephoto ends. The bottom line is that there are better cameras in this price range, including the Samsung ES80, which is available for $20 less and includes a rechargeable battery, although its display is not on par with that of the L24. The Editors’ Choice in this category, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 features a very nice 2.7-inch LCD, is a mere $10 more, and includes a rechargeable battery and optical image stabilization, and produces better images.

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About the Author

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at re... See Full Bio

Nikon Coolpix L24

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